The most critical factor that will determine the success or failure of any outsourced process or activity is the selection of the person that will be given responsibility for managing the relationship with the service provider.
It should be recognised that the skill set required to manage supplier relationships is quite different to the skill set required to manage the day-to-day activities of a logistics operation.
This is not to say that the existing skills are not transferable, nor is it being suggested that the required skills can not be learned, it is however recommending that the selection criteria should not be based on operational knowledge alone.
The candidate’s suitability with regard to communication, negotiation and facilitation skills should also be carefully considered.
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